January 10, 2014

As I am approaching close to 18 months of ardently working on the translation of the second volume of Chén Xiū-Yuàn'sJīn Guì
Fāng Gē Kuò (Formulas
from the Golden Cabinet with Songs), I thought it was due time to share a small tidbit of the material. I am getting quite close to finishing the text and it should be out sometime in the next few months.

A treatment for
post-partum wind strike that remains unresolved for several tens of days with,
a mild headache, aversion to cold, frequent heat effusion, oppression below the
heart, dry retching, and sweating. Even though (the condition) has persisted
for a long time, yáng dàn tāng signs are still present, and can be given.
(This formula) is guì zhī tāng with
increased guì zhīand the
addition of fù zǐ.

An
old block-printed version of the text refers to this formula as (guì zhī tāng)
with the addition of huáng qín, but it is unknown whether this is the same tài
yáng formula as in the Shāng hán lùn. Master Sūn Sīmiǎo and various others
believed it to be so (for which) they were mistaken. For guì zhī tāng see the Shāng Hán Lùn.

Headaches, heat
effusion, aversion to cold, and sweating are symptoms associated with a tài
yáng exterior pattern. (With) oppression below the heart, tài yáng water evils
pervade (the area) below the heart and cause oppression. Yáng dàn tāng is guì zhī tāng
with double the guì zhī and the
addition of fù zǐ. Although there is
a lack of resolution ten days post partum, evils are still located in the tài
yáng channel, and it is for this reason that guì zhī tāng is used to resolve exterior evils in the tài yáng. Guì zhī is increased in order to
transform water qì in the bladder. Fù
zǐ is added to the formula to warm and secure the water viscus, enabling
the transformation of qì in the channels and viscera, and ensuring the
expulsion of evils in both the interior and exterior. In the Shāng Hán Lùn, guì zhī jiā fù zǐ tāng is used to treat
leaking sweat; increasing guì zhī
treats surging qì from the lesser abdomen into the heart, and removing sháo yào treats chest fullness. These
(principles) are in accordance with the (original) writings. (According to)
master Sūn (sīmiǎo), yáng dān tāng is
guì zhī jiā huáng qín tāng, (as he
felt that) oppression below the heart was due to hot qì; this is a mistake! Now
if there were hot qì, then there would be heart vexation, (but) presently with
the oppression below the heart, we know there is no heat! Moreover, slight
aversion to cold, and frequent heat (effusion), dry retching, and sweating, is
a guì zhī tāng tài yáng presentation.
In all (cases) of tài yáng, there is shào yīn at the bottom, and with
continuous (wind strike) reaching ten days without resolution, there is a clear
relation to the debilitation of shào yīn sovereign fire, with exuberance of
cold water qì. Cold qì ascends and encroaches into the position of yáng,
resulting in oppression below the heart. Therefore, guì zhī tāng with increased guì
zhī, supports sovereign yáng, and with the addition of fù zǐ counterflow of water yīn is settled, heart yáng is vitalized,
and the water viscus is warmed.Then,
ascending counterflow of yīn evils will not attack, and dissipate on their own!